Parents Blog

Earlier this year, we shared some exciting news: the ASPCA has teamed up with Lil BUB to help special-needs cats around the country with Lil BUB’s BIG Fund for the ASPCA. The Humane Society of Western Montana was one recipient of the Lil BUB grant, and has already put the funds to good use. Director Lora O’Connor shared the following story with us:

Jane, also known as “Mama Jetson,” and her two three-week-old kittens, Judy and Elroy, arrived at the Humane Society of Western Montana just before closing the Saturday before Mother’s Day.

Mama Jetson had been found living in a shed with her kittens, and a Good Samaritan decided to bring her in after noticing that her breathing was labored—so much so that she sometimes resorted to open-mouth breathing. On Monday morning, Mama Jetson underwent X-rays and it was discovered that she had a diaphragmatic hernia, causing her intestines to move and become visible in her thorax (chest cavity).

The vet suspected the injury was due to blunt force trauma. Mama Jetson’s severe pain was causing her difficulty breathing, and was surely making nursing her little babies very uncomfortable. Thanks to the support the Humane Society of Western Montana received from ASPCA’s Lil BUB’s BIG Fund, we were able to get Mama Jetson into surgery Tuesday morning. The grant also gives us the ability to provide formula and other supplies to a wonderful foster home for Mama, Judy and Elroy following the surgery. Despite Mama Jetson’s pain, we are so thankful to the ASPCA for giving her the ability to stay with her babies so close to Mother’s Day.